It began it's life with 64 charter members. Our Aerie and Auxiliary is 850 members strong! Of the 64 charter members, many left behind descendants who are Eagle members today. Among the more prominent charter members is the first Aerie President , W.T. who was the founder and co-owner of the Butte County Title Company of Oroville, and who's grandson, Donald K. Baldwin, was President of this compan
y. Another charter member was U.M. Damon, who was the grandfather of former Oroville Mayor Eugene F. Sylva and his brother, Leslie D. Sylva, who are both Past Worthy Presidents of the Aerie. Many other charter members went into various areas of notoriety in community service. The first official written records of the Oroville Aerie were destroyed due to fire and flooding in the early 1930's. Much of the early history was reconstructed from the active members of the era such as; Walter Sharkey, who was the Aerie Secretary for many years; George Lares, a Past Worthy Aerie President; Vern P. Tannehill, also a Past Worthy President and who also served as Aerie Secretary for an Eagle record of 42 years; and Glen R. Comer, another Past Worthy President, Trustee, 55 year member, and co-founder of the official lodge publication, "The Oroville Eagle" which has continued monthly for over 45 years. The first Eagle meeting was located in the old I.O.O.F. Hall, which was located on Montgomery St. where the Yellow Cab Company used to be located. In the 1940's the lodge moved up the street to the Veteran's Hall, also on Montgomery St. Desirous of having their own property and lodge hall prompted the Eagles to purchase a small two story house and lot, located between the Veteran's Hall and the Native Sons & Daughters Pioneer Museum. This house was completely renovated and opened for the lodge meetings and activities in January 1948. Later on in 1954 the Bank of America building and property located at the corner of Myers and Montgomery Streets was placed for sale. The Eagles decided to use their 2 story house for a down payment and purchased what is now known as the Eagle's Hall. A few years later the "Nicholas Building", which was adjacent to the Hall, became vacant and was subsequently purchased by the Eagles. Through many volunteer hours and donations of building materials the buildings were transformed into what is often referred to as the finest Eagle meeting facility in the state of California. Its many features include 2 meeting halls, 2 dining rooms , a large industrial kitchen, a main floor club room, a basement clubroom, and a secretaries office. After some 30 years, the Eagles Hall was officially dedicated in all its glory during a 3 day celebration on May 19,20,21, 1978. Participating in the dedication program were many Eagle State Aerie and Grand Aerie officers and representatives, Butte County Board of Supervisors, the Oroville City Council, and the Mayor of Oroville, who at the time was Eugene F. Throughout the years, devoted to the building activities, the local Aerie maintained its credence for contributing to humanitarian programs through donations of both money and needed materials. National and local projects alike receive aid. Among the nationally organized Eagle projects which still regularly receives help from the Oroville Aerie include; Eagles "Golden Eagle Foundation; Eagle's Diabetes Foundation; Home on the Range (for young people in need of a new way of life); Bob Hope School for Crippled Children; D.A.R.E. (the drug awareness program aimed at the defense of our young people against drugs); the Max Baer Heart Fund; the City of Hope; the Jimmy Durante Children's Fund Program; the Art Ehmann Cancer Fund; the Eagle's Memorial Foundation; the California State Disaster Fund. Locally, scholarships are issued to the Oroville and Las Plumas High graduating seniors. Each year the Aerie prepares a complete Christmas dinner and serves an average of 450 needy and lonely people. The list is long for all the local Oroville citizens and their families that have received financial assistance or donation of the Hall for fundraisers to help them in their time of need and crisis. Our Eagles history spans 120 years and past members, long gone but not forgotten, are memorialized in the Hall. The main hall is known as the Vern P. Tannehill Room, the dining hall and Auxiliary meeting room is known as the Glenn & Mildred Comer room, the clubroom is dedicated to Ralph Wells, the deck is known as the Pat Gates Deck, the kitchen is known as the Gwen Boren Room, the basement clubroom is known as the Jake Doering Room and the previous upstairs kitchen and dining hall are known as the Don and Ester Turner Room. All of these Brothers and Sisters dedicated their good will and thoughts that make the Eagles what it is today. The Oroville Eagle's are proud to have several Brother and Sister members in the California State Hall of Fame. They are Vern Tannehill, George Mello, Ray Wells, Bob Holst, Ralph Wells, Opal Walsh, Gwen Boren, Alice Ackerman, Pat Fore, and Gracie Boehme. We also had a member and PWP who was our State President, Larry Gibson. Recently the main hall, dining room, and kitchen have been renovated, and a new HVAC system installed. The facility is available for rent for all occasions. Resources available are a full kitchen,1 or 2 halls with seating capacity of 250, and full bar upon request, sound system an WIFI. Please call (530)533-9801 for reservations. The Oroville Aerie F.O.E. #196 is proud of its contributions and participation in the world wide Fraternity of Eagles, who have adopted their official motto, "People Helping People"; a commitment to which we have met with resounding success.
